Working as a locum in Europe

Re: Working as a locum in Europe

Jo Mackenzie — Mon, 21 Jul 2014 00:03:45 GMT

Ive looked into this before but locuming isn't really a "thing" in most of Europe. A lot of countries have no VN qualification as such and use unqualified lay staff in practice, vets don't want to pay the higher rates for qualified UK staff, and then there's the inevitable language barriers. You can get permanent or semi-permanent jobs in Europe though, as Dreamcatcher said I worked in Sweden for a while and I think the other Scandinavian countries would also be relatively easy to work in, but even there they don't have locums. If you want to go a bit farther afield there are lots of jobs in the Middle East, but be wary - although you do sometimes see locum jobs advertised, in some of those countries it is illegal for practices to employ locums and you would be expected to sign up to a minimum 2-year contract, which I only found out when I did a bit of research after applying for one such "locum" job.

Ive been a locum for about 3 years now and get my travel fix by working all over the UK then doing voluntary trips abroad, of which there are hundreds to choose from - one of the many benefits of locuming is that you can work loads to save up some money, then take a decent chunk of time off to go traveling, instead of trying to squash a trip into a week or two.

Re: Working as a locum in Europe

Dreamcatcher — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 12:19:48 GMT

Jo McKenzie also wrote about working in Swedn here: http://www.vetnurse.co.uk/forums/p/23357/147457.aspx#147457 Good luck :-) x

Re: Working as a locum in Europe

Alison Clare Hickman — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 13:17:48 GMT

Cool!

Okay, PM me your facebook profile/tel number (or something she can contact you via) and I will see what I can do...

Re: Working as a locum in Europe

Geniverger — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 11:57:16 GMT

I'd love to talk to her, thanks!

Re: Working as a locum in Europe

Alison Clare Hickman — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 10:54:23 GMT

Hi, Unless you're thinking of volunteer work where language barriers have already been thought about and catered for I should imagine you might struggle with understanding everyone and being understood.... Critical! You might already have a foreign language? You haven't said... I've worked with a nurse (Viktoria) who came over from Sweden to work with us in the UK. She spoke excellent English and said if any nurses wanted to work in Sweden, lack of local language was not too problematic as most people were dual linguistic overthere. Anf RCVS qualification is considered highly prized and would put you in place as a sought after employment opportunity. She did say that it can be a bit lonely not having anyone around you speak your own language, even the TV.... However her experience in everything else far outweighed a bit of homesickness! So, my best suggestion would be to get in touch with vet practices in countries where English is commonly spoken/understood (eg Sweden, Holland, Finland, Denmark....) and take it from there. If you're interested in chatting to Viktoria, let me know and I will PM her on Facebook and ask her permission to do so.... Regards; good luck; well done for qualifying!! Ali h

Re: Working as a locum in Europe

Caro Laithwaite VN — Sat, 21 Jun 2014 20:47:21 GMT

As far as l know Spain and Portugal only have small local vets with the odd helpers locums/nurses are not something that they have. Other countries may do but in those 2 countries there is a different mindset.